New Jail Nearly Ready
Posted/updated on: December 13, 2014 at 9:32 pm
TYLER — After months of delays, the new Smith County Jail is just about ready to take in inmates. An open house was held Thursday to showcase the renovated structure. KETK reports the 60,000-square-foot facility can hold up to 385 new beds. Cells are isolated pods stacked together to form housing units. The county had the jail designed with longevity in mind, and officials say it will serve the needs of the community for decades to come. They say the county was spending about $2 million a year housing inmates in other counties — but this has stopped that and the county has already reduced that number from about 250 to about 15 to 20. The county worked closely with architects for four years to develop the design of the new facility.
